07 October, 2010

Radovan Karadzic in the courtroom during British General Michael Rose's testimony.

General Sir Michael Rose, former Commander of UNPROFOR forces in Bosnia in 1994, once described former Serb leader Radovan Karadzic as "a consummate liar, inherently paranoid and a heavy drinker who plainly verged on alcoholism." (see: Daily Mail)

In a case of Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro Rose testified on behalf of Serbia, but a case of Prosecutor v. Karadzic, he appeared as a Prosecution witness testifying about sniper and artillery attacks on Sarajevo from January 1994 to August 1995. In that period Rose was the commander of the UNPROFOR troops in BH. Although Rose is widely considered pro-Serb, that perception may change with his ongoing testimony against Karadzic. Rose testified about Karadzic's unquestionable position of authority in the Bosnian Serb army (VRS). According to AP's Mike Corder, "British Gen. Michael Rose's testimony at Karadzic's genocide trial is expected to be key to proving the former Bosnian Serb leader had complete control over troops responsible for the 1992-95 conflict's most bloody atrocities."

"At the beginning of his cross-examination, Radovan Karadzic claimed that he was ‘surprised’ when General Rose told him yesterday during a proofing interview in the detention unit that some people considered Rose to be ‘pro-Serb’. As Karadzic noted, their relationship during the war ‘often grew colder, and was disrupted at times’ but they ‘always had respect for each other’. Karadzic said he never considered Rose to be ‘pro-Serb’. Rose replied he was ‘glad to hear it’. Karadzic then asked Rose, ‘can you be objective given that you are under the pressure of being pro-Serb’. Judge Kwon interrupted Karadzic, noting he saw ‘no sense in that’. (SENSE)"

Karadzic blamed the defenders of Sarajevo for orchestrating two Markale Market massacres in Sarajevo. The first massacre occurred on February 5, 1994 when 68 people were killed and 144 more were wounded. The second massacre followed on August 28, 1995 when a mortar shell killed 37 and wounded 90 people. The International Criminal Tribunal ruled that Serbs were responsible for both Markale Market massacres in Sarajevo. However, Karadzic claimed he would prove that the Bosnian Serb army was not responsible for the massacre. Recently, Karadzic accused Sarajevo authorities of planting a prosthetic leg on the scene of the 1993 Markale massacre. Prosecutors responded by producing evidence that identified disabled Bosniak man - who had a prosthetic leg - as a victim of the 1994 Markale massacre.

Sir Michael Rose dismissed Karadzic's allegations that the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina orchestrated the massacre:

"Rose didn’t agree with Karadzic’s theory on who was responsible for the Markale market incident. As Rose said, the second, more thorough investigation done by the UN showed that the fatal shell had ‘most likely been fired from the territory under the Bosnian Serb control’. Karadzic nevertheless argued that the results of another investigation showed that it was impossible to determine with 100 percent certainty which side was responsible. Rose explained his opinions were based on other findings from that period, including the fact that two days before the Markale town market massacre, the Serb forces fired shells on the Sarajevo citizens queuing for bread in Dobrinja. ‘I still hold this view and I have nothing else to add to it’, Rose concluded." (SENSE)

Sir Michael Rose testified that the Bosnian Serb forces repeatedly blocked aid convoys using techniques ranging from military attacks to "ridiculous and absurd bureaucratic procedures" including sending back an entire convoy because they found "one biscuit" that was not on the cargo manifest.

Asked what effect the strangulation of humanitarian supply lines had on the population of Muslim enclaves in eastern Bosnia, Rose told judges, "People in Srebrenica particularly and Zepa were reduced to a situation of near starvation."

"It was systematic and could only have come as a decision from the top," Rose said.

SPECIAL THANK YOU:

PLEASE DONATE:

Srebrenica Genocide is not a matter of anybody's opinion; it's a judicial fact recognized first by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and subsequently by the International Court of Justice.